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Monday, March 28, 2016

Main Ingredient Of Artificial Sweetener Splenda Linked To Leukemia

Artificial sweetener sucralose – marketed under the brand name
Splenda – may not be harmless at all, according to a new study in Italy.

Researchers from the Ramazzini Institute have found that Splenda substantially raised the risk of leukemia and other cancers.

Splenda hit the market in the 1990s as an alternative to white sugar and other artificial sweeteners that
have been linked to health issues. In 2013, it was downgraded from a
"safe" to "caution" standing because of earlier research also from the
Ramazzini Institute.

The new study, discussed in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health,
gave 457 male mice, along with 396 female mice, different levels of
sucralose, as added to their food from 12 days of gestation until they
died.

The team saw an overall increased rate of malignant cancer in male
mice as Splenda amounts increased in the diets. The researchers also
detected a substantially higher incidence of leukemia in the male
rodents whose dose levels of sucralose reached 2,000 to 16,000 ppm.

According to the authors, the results do not back up previous findings that sucralose remains "biologically inert."

"More studies are necessary to show the safety of sucralose,
including new and more adequate carcinogenic bioassay on rats," they wrote, emphasizing the need for follow-up studies given the sucralose intake of millions worldwide.

Even less intake poses a problem, added scientist Lisa Lefferts of
the Center for Science in the Public Interest. A substance that leads to
cancer at high doses can also do so at lower doses, only with a smaller
risk, she said.

In a statement, Heartland Food Products, the makers of Splenda refuted the
study claims, calling the institute's body of research unreliable and
with an unconventional design that does not adhere to internationally
recognized standards.